The Werewolf Ranger (Moonbound Book 3)

by Krystal Shannan

  He nodded. A tight sensation crawled up through his body and lodged itself in the base of his throat. If Rain had his way, he’d kill Edward Cavanaugh himself, with his bare hands. He would sneak into the man’s bedroom and cut his head from his body with an exacto-knife. But Nora would never allow it.

  This was their only other option.

  “I think I found something,” Jeanette piped up from the corner of the table. She turned around a yellow legal pad that she’d been scratching on.

  There was a list of words in Spanish, and then in English. Next to each was a day and a set of numbers.

  Rain ran his finger down the list.

  Matthias sat beside the number 989 and the word handcuffs. Then, on the next line, was Ricardo and 1172 and herpes. The strangest list Rain had ever seen.

  “That’s amazing,” Nora said, her voice full of wonder. “We all looked at those lines and we couldn’t read anything.”

  “It’s a fairly complex substitution cipher.” Jeanette’s slight fingers tapped on the worn pages of the book and then on her notebook. “The only way I knew the key is that it’s commonly used by Argentine intelligence. I used to work the South America desk at Langley.”

  Rain chewed his lip and passed the notebook to Francis. “What do you make of these? Handcuffs, herpes, blood.”

  Jeanette picked up the glass of water in front of her and took a long drink. Almost into the glass itself, she said, “I bet it’s an operative.”

  Rain scratched at his forehead. “An operative?”

  The tiny cryptologist gave him a rueful smile. “Or a former operative.” She used her pencil to point to one of the lines. “It’s really not detailed enough to be from an assignment—plus, I have to wonder why an operative on assignment would ever be keeping what amounts to a diary.”

  Nora gripped Rain’s thigh and he turned, to find her face white and her eyes wide.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “You know who does keep a diary like that?” She looked at each of them with a meaningful frown. “Business owners.”

  The silence around the table gave them all plenty of time to process what that meant, but Rain couldn’t hold it in. “The jackass ran a brothel and kept records like they were transactions.”

  “And customer notes, too.” Jeanette pointed to each of the words as she said them. “Somebody likes handcuffs, somebody has herpes…” She trailed off when she got to the next word. No one wanted to think about what it meant that there was a note about blood.

  Rain shuddered. “If we assume this is a ledger…what do we do with it?”

  Francis shut the book. “Let me give it to Jeanette to take back to Miami with her. We need to study the entire thing, in case there’s information about who this man is.” He slid it across the table, almost like he was attempting to get it as far from him as he could manage.

  “We sent some of the men from the group into the mountains,” Nora said. “If there’s anything to be learned about these men who live there, Tomás and Alex will find it.”

  The air inside the plane began to feel tight to Rain, like it was closing in on him. The thought of his team back in Mexico should’ve eaten at him. But they weren’t really his team. His real team was back in North Carolina, and they weren’t sure when he would return—if ever, in the case that Francis needed him. But all this talk of missions made him itch again.

  Francis rose from the table and ushered Jeanette from the cabin.

  Rain made to follow, but Nora held his hand and kept him beside her.

  “Are we going back to Guadalajara?” she asked.

  Rain glanced up at his alpha. The man had a presence and filled a room, almost making his anxiety go away. “We should go,” he said. “If we don’t check in with the team, they’ll wonder what happened to us.”

  Nora settled against his chest and looked up into his eyes. The lazy smile on her face made Rain almost forget about all of the crazy moments in the last couple of days. Somehow, when he looked at Nora, he saw serenity and stability—two things he’d always craved—but wrapped up in a package of adventure and beauty and fearlessness.

  “I love you,” he blurted out. Rain swallowed and took a long breath. “I guess that’s just out there, now.”

  Nora’s lips settled into an easy smile. She opened her mouth to speak, and the strangest strangled noise wrenched itself from her throat. Her eyes went round and she stopped breathing.

  Rain lunged forward, his hands going immediately to her shoulders. “Nora. What’s wrong?”

  She continued to make the choked-off noise and collapsed against the table. Rain put his hand on her back and stroked her.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  Her eyes were wide and brimming with fear. “My father,” she choked out, coughing. “It’s my father. He’s here somewhere. He’s close, and he’s looking for me.”

  * * *

  “Francis!” Rain shouted out the open plane hatch.

  Nora clutched his arm and fought to draw in a breath. Somehow her father had already honed in on the relationship she’d started with Rain. He would punish her and then he would kill Rain. She couldn’t lose him. Losing another mate would kill her.

  “Help, Francis!”

  The New Orleans alpha sent Jeanette on toward the car and turned back to the plane. He took the stairs quickly and knelt beside Nora where she clung to Rain’s arm and gasped for one molecule of air after the next.

  Edward Cavanaugh was pissed and closing in. He didn’t have this much control over her physical body, unless he was less than a mile away.

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” Rain growled. “She just collapsed and she can’t breathe. And she says her father is looking for her.”

  Nora looked up from the floor and met Francis’ gaze. He must know what was happening. All alphas had the same power over their packs, but she hadn’t met many other alphas that wielded it the way her father did.

  Pain seared through her chest and a growl rumbled out as she called on her magick to fight through the link.

  “If I break his bond, Nora, you will be bound to me the same way.”

  “Her father is hurting her!” The disgust in Rain’s voice dug at her heart.

  Yes, she had an asshole tyrant for a father. She’d grown up where every move and every word was carefully planned. Her father forgave no one and forgot nothing.

  “He won’t stop looking for you, but it will give you a chance,” Francis continued.

  “Please,” she gasped.

  “Francis, I can’t lose her.”

  “You won’t be able to go back to Mexico, and you can’t return to New Orleans. You must go back to your unit and disappear, Rain. That is the only chance you have to remain hidden from a man like Cavanaugh.”

  “Do it,” Rain said.

  Francis looked at Nora and took both her hands in his. “This is your choice, Nora. Not mine. And not Rain’s. You will have to give up your entire life.”

  She glanced to Rain and then to Francis. “There is no choice to make,” she gasped. “Please help me.”

  The older man nodded. “Welcome to my family.”

  A warmth and peaceful sensation rippled through her magick, unlike anything she’d ever experienced via her link to her father…her alpha. Francis’ magick swirled around her, embracing her, and then tore the pain free of her chest. One second she was gasping for breath and the next she was crying with relief.

  It was gone. He was gone. That horrible ax that had followed every step of her life had vanished.

  She drew a full breath and threw her arms around Francis’ neck. “Thank you.”

  Francis returned the embrace. “Take care of her.” He said over her shoulder.

  “I will.”

  They stood and Nora moved back a step to stand at Rain’s side.

  “He will look harder for you because of his anger. Be careful. Both of you. A man like Cavanaugh has many resources.”

  “I know.”
Nora nodded. “Believe me. I know the extent he’ll go to get what he wants. Goodbye, Francis.”

  “Goodbye,” he answered, then pulled Rain into an embrace. “Get this plane off the ground fast,” he murmured.

  Francis turned and hurried down the stairs to the pavement and climbed into the waiting car with Jeanette.

  Men on the ground scrambled to pull the stairs away from the plane.

  Rain tugged her hand and led her to a seat in the back of the plane. “I’ll be right back.” He kissed the top of her head.

  She sighed as he disappeared into the front. Nora glanced out the window. The black car Francis and Jeanette had left in was barely visible now.

  The hatch slammed shut and the engines of the plane roared to life. A few minutes later, the plane lurched forward and started taxiing along the runway. They made a few turns before Rain reappeared and sat next to her.

  “You okay?” He took her hand in his and squeezed.

  “Where are we going?”

  “North Carolina. We’re going to disappear.”

  She took another deep breath and leaned her head against his shoulder. “It will be good to disappear. We will need every advantage we can get to stay hidden from my father.”

  Rain cupped her face, tipping it up so that she looked into his beautiful blue eyes. She loved those eyes. She loved him…more than she could ever describe. He was her whole world now. Literally.

  “You are safe now.” He kissed her forehead and then rearranged his body in the chair to prepare for the takeoff. The plane had picked up speed and was vibrating as it got closer and closer to rising from the runway.

  She snapped her seatbelt on and took Rain’s hand again. He was making a promise he couldn’t keep. No one could. Even if Rain tried, he couldn’t watch her one hundred percent of the time every day for the rest of her life. But they could enjoy the time they did have, and make the absolute most of it before her father invariably caught up with them.

  Eventually a fight would come. Edward Cavanaugh wasn’t a man who gave up. But Nora was a Cavanaugh too, and she was just as stubborn.

  Fate had given her another chance, and she would fight tooth and nail to keep her second chance at happiness.

  She nuzzled against Rain’s shoulder and let the vibrations of the plane soothe her into a restful sleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Rain put his arm around Nora’s waist and shimmied her through the door. The night had fallen and it was cold for a North Carolina November evening. The street in front of his house on base was almost deafeningly quiet, and he was glad to put the door between them and the prying eyes of the Black Wolf company.

  Nora shivered and looked around his dark living room. “Why all the sheets?” She picked up the edge of one that covered his couch.

  “I wasn’t planning on coming back.” Rain pulled her into his arms and then down onto the floor.

  Her sigh was audible and she relaxed against his chest.

  “You’re still tired?” Rain stroked her back, having a momentary flashback of her choking on the table in the plane. He’d give all the blood in his body never to see that happen again.

  “Mmhmm.” She burrowed against him, settling between his legs and molding her body to his.

  “You slept the whole flight.”

  “You didn’t?” Nora gazed up at him and Rain felt something close around his heart.

  She had that glowy, hazy aura about her that he remembered from that morning in Guadalajara. The way she looked so completely… his.

  He hadn’t been able to stop staring at her the whole time they were in the air. She’d just curled against him like this and fallen asleep, and he’d been captivated. So captivated, he couldn’t even bring up the obvious. Bonding.

  No one had ever belonged to him like this before. His family had all been killed with his cousins’ when he was young, and Francis had taken him in and acted like his father, but Rain had never felt that sense of wholeness that came with someone being only his.

  His brother, his parents, his sister…they had been his. But Francis had belonged to the whole pack. Even Reyna and Aria had become like sisters when Rain had just stayed on the perimeter.

  The unit was the closest he’d ever come to family, but even then, he hadn’t let them in quickly or easily.

  Nora was another story. When Francis overrode her alpha bond and made her part of their pack, something inside Rain had shifted, and still threatened to overwhelm him.

  He couldn’t explain any of it to Nora, who had grown up with a mother and father and sisters and power and home. And a mate. She’d already been mated, so she even knew what that was like, where he had only heard vague stories from his buddies in the unit.

  He couldn’t even remember the words to the spell.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” he finally said, resuming the rhythm of strokes on her back.

  “Well, let’s rectify that situation.” Nora leaned up and took his lips with hers. She moved forward, almost climbing his body, deepening the kiss and straddling him all at once.

  And of course, she wasn’t wearing any fucking underwear, so the scent of her arousal almost immediately filled his senses.

  “Just…wait.” He tamped down the rising lust, but it was still burning under his skin and he wanted to throw her on the floor and drive into her, more than he’d ever wanted to have sex with her. “I promised Francis I would call.”

  The thought of his alpha helped him to gain some control. Francis was the closest thing he’d ever had to a father, and without him, Nora would be on her way back to Boston in chains. Or metaphoric ones. And he would have put himself in front of a bullet to get her back.

  Nora’s hands on his stomach and her lips on his neck did little to reinforce his willpower.

  “I slept the whole flight,” she reminded him with an uplift to her voice. “I’ve got energy for days.”

  Rain settled her back on his thighs, far from his pulsing cock, and dug in his pocket for his phone. “Just let me call Francis. I promised I would check in.”

  She crossed her arms and pushed out her bottom lip in this cute, bitable way.

  Something inside Rain opened up in an animalistic roar. Now that they were finally back in his home, he wanted to lock her here and never let her see the light of day until they had brought some kind of justice on her father’s head. And they would. But the protectiveness wasn’t just about her father. He didn’t want anyone to see her like this. Ever again.

  He wanted to be the only person who saw this kind of raw lust on her face, ever. The only person who would ever hold her or touch her or kiss her. His body almost buzzed with how much he wanted her.

  “Damn girl, will you stop wiggling around on me like that.” He pressed the contact for Francis and the phone connected. “I swear, you’re going to be the death of me.”

  She leaned forward and put her hands on his hips. “Not for a very, very long time, though.” Nora pressed her lips onto his and slipped her tongue into his mouth.

  Rain groaned deep in his throat and was just about to put the phone down when Francis’ voice sounded in his ear.

  “Are you safe?” his alpha asked.

  “Yes.” Rain pushed Nora back and sat up straight. “Why? You sound…worried.”

  “Nora’s father came to the airport not long after you took off.” Francis hissed and away from the phone, muttered something with the words not so hard to someone.

  “What is it?” Rain pushed Nora to the side and jumped to his feet. “What happened?”

  “Oh, just Cavanaugh flexing his muscles.” Francis coughed and there was a long pause, as if he moved the phone. “As long as you and Nora are safe, that’s all that matters.”

  Rain fisted his hand and pushed the fist into the wall beside his door. “I don’t want you fighting my battles.”

  “We didn’t. Cavanaugh wouldn’t dare touch me, after the way the wolves in the South have been aligning these last few weeks. He’d have to fight an
army. That’s why I sent you away.”

  “I still don’t like leaving you exposed.” Rain felt Nora’s hand on his back and he raised his shoulder where she was touching him. He had to keep calm so she wouldn’t worry.

  “We’re going to fly home as soon as the alphas have finished meeting. Cavanaugh can’t do anything to me. I’m the only link to you that he has, now. Plus, he needs this unbonded wolf situation to be handled. Nothing is more dangerous to a man like Edward Cavanaugh than information he can’t control.”

  With a deep breath, Rain turned around and pulled Nora into his chest. “That’s why Nora will stay here. No one will ever find her here.”

  On the other end of the line, Rain heard voices and recognized Aria’s. The other must have been her new mate. At least they would be there to protect Francis.

  “Aria says she heard from your friends in Mexico,” Francis said. “They sent some wolves up into the mountain tribes looking for these men. We’ll keep you informed of their progress, but it sounds like this Maggie Gallagher is pretty on the ball.”

  A smirk took Rain’s lips. “She is that.”

  “What about Maggie Gallagher?” Nora pulled back and her eyes went round.

  With a laugh, Rain said, “Francis wants me to have a harem. You and Maggie for starters. Maybe that hot chick from LA.”

  Nora punched him so hard in the stomach, he lost his breath and doubled over. But he came out of it laughing and pulling her into his body, spreading his legs and leaning back against the wall so she’d lean against him.

  He loved the fight in her.

  “You don’t have to worry about them, anyway,” Francis said. “They’ll keep us all in the loop.”

  There was a long pause and Rain could sense something coming. Some bomb that was going to drop and explode him. He tensed, waiting for Francis to continue, and Nora glanced up at him with worry etched on her face.

  “You’re not going to be able to come back to New Orleans.” His alpha’s voice was so laced with sadness, it drilled down into Rain’s heart and wounded him.

  “I know,” he said.